The After Effect
by warehouseluver13
Summary: This story is a one shot about Oliver and Diggle focused on how Felicity is doing after her encounter with The Count. Set after State vs. Queen.
1. The After Effect

**_Hello Readers! This is a one shot of Oliver, Felicity and Diggle after State vs. Queen and before the next episode, the Scientist. I tried to keep the dynamic between Oliver and Felicity as close to the plot line as possible, so it's not really Olicity. (Although I do sort of ship them) Please read, review and most importantly, enjoy! _**

**_-warehouseluver13_**

**_Oops! Almost forgot! I don't own Arrow, it belongs to The CW, and I don't own these characters, DC COMICS (& The CW) do._**

* * *

The After Effect

After she finished giving her statement to QC security, Felicity hurried out to the employee parking lot in an attempt to drive home to her apartment. However, the walk to her car seemed infinite, and haunted by the ghostly touch of The Count's hands on her shoulders and hair. Felicity managed to unlock her car and sit down in the driver's seat; she was only able to think about how Oliver had come for her, like he always does, but this time it was different. This time, he had broken his vow to Tommy and killed for her. That weighed her down the most, because she has seen Oliver struggle to come to terms with all the blood he has on his hands already. However, she pushed that thought out of her mind for now. She saw that concerned look on Oliver's face after he killed The Count, knowing fully well that even after she convinced him to go back to his mother's trial to not raise suspicion of his disappearance, he would pop by her apartment after the trial was over. And if she wasn't in her apartment when he stopped by to visit, he would tear Starling City apart just to find her and make sure she was okay.

Felicity turned the key in the ignition to start her car and head for home. She desperately needed at least a three hour bath to try to wash the eerie touch of The Count off of her. Although, in her mind she knew three hours of soaking wouldn't be enough to remove the touch of The Count. At least for now.

Felicity entered her apartment and checked all the rooms to see if any of them were broken into before heading to her bathroom to take a bath. She created plans to burn the clothes that she was wearing later. An hour into her bath, her cell phone rang- she glanced at the caller ID and was relieved to see that it was not Oliver calling, but Diggle. She answered the call.

"Hey Diggle. Yes, I'm fine as you probably know, alive and in one piece too," she said.

"That's a relief to hear. When Oliver stopped by the foundry to suit up before coming to rescue you, he started yelling at me for letting for you go investigate on your own in the first place. I reminded him that I was still on the mend from the vertigo flu shot, and I wasn't really strong enough to keep you in the foundry until he got back from his mother's trial. So I was just calling to tell you how horrible I feel for not trying hard enough to stop you,"

Felicity was silent for a moment before answering. "Diggle, it's not your fault. I should have listened to you and stayed in the foundry. I should have waited for Oliver to return from his mother's trial and let him go investigate the clinic. However, when I decided to go investigate the clinic for Oliver, it was just on good intentions since he always works so hard to juggle his double life. Yet, I didn't expect The Count to be lying in wait at the clinic, possibly waiting for the Vigilante to show up. To top it off, when Oliver came to rescue me, he broke his vow he made to Tommy and killed him,"

"Felicity, I'm absolutely sure that when Oliver rescued you, he told you that given any day, he would throw his vow he made to Tommy out the window if it came down to between you living or dying at the hands of a madman. Out of everything else in the world, Oliver would most definitely put your life ahead of anything else he valued. When he knows you're not looking at him, he stares at you sadly sometimes with a look of regret of his face. I think he regrets dragging you into his double life of Oliver Queen and the Vigilante,"

"Well, Oliver can think what he wants, but at least he doesn't need to use those BS excuses anymore when he needs something analyzed or fixed, such as 'his laptop with bullet holes.' Besides, I could have left after we found and rescued Walter. Actually, that was what I was originally planning to do. Yet during the time it took to find Walter, I noticed that every time Oliver put on his hood to go off and save Starling City, he became someone else; and that person needed someone besides John Diggle to ground him when he came back from his mission of the day. To remind him that reality does exist, even if he has to walk around as Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated by day, and become the Vigilante by night,"

"Oh so you're saying that you felt sorry for me? Well it was getting pretty lonely in the foundry with Oliver. Also, is that the only reason why you stayed?"

Felicity laughed. "I could also say that I stayed because both of you don't know how to handle a computer, and that just hurts me in my soul,"

Diggle chuckled. "Okay Felicity. Well, I'll let you go now so you can go back to whatever you doing before I called. Oliver will probably swing by your apartment anyways to check up on you himself. You know how sensitive he gets about you, especially when he just had to leave you there to deal with QC security and go back to his mother's trial to try to act as if nothing had happened,"

"Trust me Diggle, I know. Which is why I drove back to my apartment to take a bath before he stops by. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't here when he stops by tonight, Starling City would be at his mercy until he found me and made sure I was okay,"

Felicity's comment caused Diggle to laugh again. "You know Felicity, you are probably right. Anyways, see you tomorrow, bright and early,"

"Bye John," said Felicity as she hung up.

She placed her cell phone on the floor by her bathtub and stretched out to relax. She hoped to God she could relax in her tub for another hour before Oliver stopped by.

* * *

After listening to peaceful music for what seemed like forever, Felicity glanced at the digital clock on her cell phone. She sighed; the last hour of her bath had slipped by and the ghostly effect of The Count's hands were still on her hair and shoulders, but it was not as bad as it was before. She knew it was time to shower off so she could change into her favorite green flannel pajamas before Oliver decided to make an appearance.

She finished showering and crept over to her closet to change. After Felicity finished changing, she walked over to her small kitchen to make tea in an effort to calm her nerves. With a few short steps, she walked over to her living room, turned on the TV, and sat down on the couch. She curled up in a ball, and wrapped both hands around her mug before taking a sip. She stared blankly into space trying to ignore the local news; it was obviously broadcasting what went down at Queen Consolidated just a few hours earlier. In fact the only thing that brought her back to her senses was a loud knock on her apartment door. Felicity got up and looked though the peephole before answering the door. Oliver was standing in front of the door, still in his suit from the trial, with the most concerned look in his blue eyes she has probably ever seen since the doll-maker case. She opened the door to let him into her apartment.

"What, no window this time? You always seem to enter my apartment by climbing up the fire escape and through one of my unlocked windows," said Felicity, in an attempt to make a joke.

Oliver was not amused by her joke as he entered her apartment and scanned the rooms for any signs of broken entry before returning his gaze back to her.

"Are you all right?" Oliver asked softly, closing the amount of space between them.

Felicity sighed as she walked back over to the couch to sit down. Oliver joined her.

"You know… I could say that I'm all right, but then I would be lying. Since you usually know when someone is lying to you, I'm just gonna come out and say it- I'm not all right. Besides almost dying today, you had to kill The Count, and you had to break your vow you made to Tommy…"

Felicity trailed off and stared down into the tea in her mug.

She felt his warm hand touch her face. She allowed him to lift her face up so that she could look him in the eyes. Felicity stared into his serious blue eyes as he spoke.

"Felicity, there was no choice- I was not going to allow The Count to take your life. If I killed The Count the first time I encountered him, he would never have had the chance to take you captive. I saw how scared you looked earlier tonight; you wanted The Count to stop touching your hair and shoulders so badly, but at the same time you silently plead to me not to kill him because you knew of the vow I made to Tommy. I will always choose to save you over my vow to not kill anyone, because you are worth saving, Felicity Smoak,"

Felicity felt her face heat up as she blushed. She was officially speechless.

"I think it's safe to say that on my way out of Queen Consolidated tonight, I may have ran a magnet over the security tapes to erase the footage of your showdown with The Count," said Felicity, shivering after saying the dead drug lord's name.

"Thanks Felicity,"

"Not a problem, Oliver. So, John called me earlier to check in on me and he told me that you yelled at him for letting me go by myself to the clinic. I hope you know it wasn't his fault, Oliver. It was my choice to go, just like the time it was my decision to be bait for that doll-maker serial killer,"

Oliver inhaled sharply. "Digg knew when I walked into the foundry to suit up earlier, that my adrenaline was already spiking. He knew I would either punch him in the face for letting you go by yourself, or I would yell at him for not trying to call me after you left the foundry,"

Felicity nodded, grateful Oliver had chosen to deal with John in a non-violent way.

"How did your mother's trial go?" Felicity asked, as she got up to put her mug in the sink.

"Surprisingly, she got acquitted of all charges. I'd consider it a miracle, but…,"

"You think someone behind the scenes pulled some strings to get your mother off the hook," Felicity finished, sitting back down on the couch.

"Exactly,"

"So the Vigilante's question for tomorrow is who got Moria Queen off the hook for the murders of five hundred people during the Undertaking, and why," Felicity replied.

Oliver flashed a quick smile. "Yup,"

Felicity yawned and looked at the clock up on the wall- it was starting to get really late and she honestly needed sleep if she wanted to function properly tomorrow. Which really sucked, because she would rather like to stay up all night talking to Oliver than sleep and be plagued with nightmares of The Count. She would never admit this to Oliver, but she did like that her desk was just a few footsteps from his at Queen Consolidated. She felt safe when he was around her; especially here tonight after the showdown with The Count.

"You must be really exhausted after all the chaos that has happened today. You should really go to bed," Oliver suggested, as he took in her appearance for the first time, amused that she was wearing green pajamas.

Felicity stood up and stretched. "I guess that would be a good idea, since I need to be able to function for tomorrow,"

"Wait, you're coming into work tomorrow?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah. It beats staying here in my empty apartment alone, waiting for the hours of the day to pass," said Felicity.

"That does make sense. I was planning on sleeping on your couch tonight anyway, so if you do wake up during the night screaming, I'll be here to comfort you. And tomorrow, I'll talk to Digg and we can arrange sleeping schedules so that at least one of us will be here to comfort you until your nightmares pass,"

Felicity was in the middle of folding down her sheets, when she froze to process what Oliver had just said.

"There's no chance of arguing my way out of this is there?"

"Nope,"

Felicity stared at Oliver for a few seconds before walking over to her closet to grab a spare set of sheets for the couch and a pillow. She threw them in the direction of Oliver, who caught them with ease. He walked over to the couch to set up his temporary bed as Felicity turned off the lamp in her room.

"Oliver?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," said Felicity, before turning over to go to sleep.

Oliver smiled in the direction of Felicity. He knew he didn't deserve her- he was a broken man who had been through unspeakable experiences. Felicity was too perfect in many countless ways; yet, he managed to drag her into his life- she had to witness and live through things a girl like her shouldn't have to experience. Ever since she joined Diggle and him on his crusade to save Starling City, he always has wondered what keeps her going everyday- Oliver Queen's assistant by day and the Hood's IT girl by night. The more he kept thinking about it, the more he realized that he may never know the answer to Felicity's strength she had in herself in an effort to lead a stable double life.

* * *

**_So, what did you think? Leave a review! Also, as you can tell, I had trouble writing an extremely talkative Felicity. (You know, the way she gets when she is around Oliver.) Also, let me know if you want me to do this one-shot from Oliver's POV, Diggle's POV or a deepened Felicity's POV. (In other words this one shot would be written more in 1__st__ person)_**

**_Don't forget to leave a review! _**

**_-warehouseluver13_**


	2. Author's Note

**_Wow! I'm totally amazed! Over 2,000 viewers? Thanks so much you guys! *Virtual Hugs for all* Anyways, I thought I would let you know that I am working really hard in an attempt to write this one shot from Oliver's POV. If all goes well, I might even try to do this one shot from Diggle's POV... but only time will tell._**

**_Thanks for the amazing support! _**

**_-warehouseluver13_**


	3. Oliver's POV

_**Hey everyone! I decided to take on the original one shot from Oliver's POV! This one shot took a lot of work, so it may be a little rough around the edges. However, I have faith that you will enjoy reading my hard work! :) Let me know if you see any errors too! Also, anything in italics are Oliver's thoughts.**_

_**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow.**_

_**-warehouseluver13**_

* * *

**Oliver**

I watched The Count's dead body crash out the window with my three arrows in him, knowing that he would probably land somewhere outside the exterior of QC. I deeply exhaled, feeling the weight of The Count's death adding to my guilt. I pushed that weight aside; that didn't matter now- Felicity did. I raced over to her, and kept repeating to myself that killing The Count was the only way to save Felicity because he had threatened her life.

"Hey, hey, hey, Shh, shh, shh," I whispered, approaching my terrified friend.

As I cupped Felicity's face in one hand, she looked up at me, and I guess she was still trying to process what just happened.

"It's all right. You're safe," I reassured her.

I watched Felicity's eyes scan my body; she was probably looking for any injuries I had acquired while rescuing her, because knowing Felicity, she would blame herself for them.

"Oh, you were shot," she said, touching the wound on my arm lightly.

My body finally registered the pain of the gunshot, but I ignored it. I was just relieved that Felicity was alive.

"Hey. It's nothing," I replied.

I took my hand away from Felicity's face and walked to the window to check to see where The Count landed. As I looked out the broken window, I saw that the corpse of The Count had landed on a car in downtown Starling City. I also noticed the increasingly amount of Starling City PD surrounding Queen Consolidated. I quickly returned back to Felicity's side to help her stand up.

"Oliver, you have to get back to your mother's trial. The last thing you need is to explain your mysterious disappearance from the court house, and then in the same amount of time The Vigilante rescuing Oliver Queen's assistant from The Count. I'll wait here to give my statement to security and police,"

As I helped Felicity to her feet, I stared at her sadly, knowing she was right; but part of me wanted to take her back to the foundry so at least Diggle could look after her until the trial was over.

I absentmindedly nodded my head as I made my way towards the window to make my escape back to the foundry to change.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" I asked; I was still not sure if should leave her here alone until security arrived.

Felicity flashed me a brief smile.

"Yes I'll be fine. Oliver- go,"

After looking back at her one more time, I jumped out the broken window, and twisted around to shoot an arrow onto the roof so I could scale the side of QC into the alley below.

I rode back to the foundry quickly, so I could change into my suit and race back to the Starling City Court House before my mother's verdict was decided.

* * *

I entered the foundry, and I was surprised that Diggle didn't even leave to go home yet.

"Digg, you should go home. You really need to rest and recover from the Vertigo flu shot," I said.

_I was really concerned for Diggle's health, especially since he is having a slow recovery from the Vertigo flu shot; but that didn't change the fact that he didn't call me when Felicity decided to go investigate the Starling City Clinic on her own. _

Diggle grunted as he leaned on a nearby table for support to stand up.

"I've been resting here. I figured it wouldn't be a bright idea to drive home with Vertigo in my system. How's Felicity doing? I saw on the news that The Count was dead, so I figured that you killed-"

"Felicity's fine," I growled, as I dressed my gunshot wound with medical bandages.

"Okay, no need to get defensive, Oliver," Diggle replied.

I finished changing into my suit, and I set my Hood costume, my bow, and quiver of arrows down on the nearby table.

I exhaled. "Go home Diggle," I said to him before leaving the foundry to return to the Court House.

* * *

I entered the Court House as quickly as I could, and approached the recess area, where Thea was sitting on a wooden bench. As soon as she saw me, an annoyed look spread across her face.

"Where were you?" She asked.

I was at a loss of words, and I ended up replying with a lame excuse.

"Something came up at Queen Consolidated… you will see it on the news later,"

Thea ignored my excuse. "What would you have done if there'd been a verdict?"

She was clearly annoyed that I had stepped away from mom's trial to handle "business" at Queen Consolidated. However, even if there had been a verdict during the time I was away from the Court House, I would gladly let the press chew 'Oliver Queen' up, because in that moment, Felicity's life mattered more than my mother's trial.

I replied honestly to her question. "Thea… I don't know,"

_It was the honest truth, so I really wasn't lying to her._

"Are you okay?" Thea asked, worriedly.

I shifted uncomfortably. She could always tell when I'm not one hundred percent Oliver Queen, son of Moira Queen and famed playboy of the Queen family.

I was saved from replying to Thea when our mother's lawyer walked out to us.

"Hey, the jury is back," she said before walking back towards the court room.

"Come on," said Thea; she followed the lawyer back into the court room to stand behind our mother and wait for the verdict.

As I followed Thea, Felicity still crossed my mind. I decided that after the trial was over, I would swing by her apartment before heading home to check up on her. If I had to, I would even sleep on the couch in her apartment, just in case if she awoke during the night screaming because of a horrible nightmare she was having, possibly featuring The Count. If that would be the case, I would leave Felicity's apartment at the crack of dawn to return home before Thea would wake up.

* * *

I entered the court room, and stood beside Thea waiting for the judge to announce the jury's verdict.

"I have received a note that the jury has arrived at a verdict. Please publish the verdict," said the judge, handing the verdict to his assistant.

"In the Superior Court of Star County, State versus Moira Queen Verdict… on one count of conspiracy in the first degree, the defendant is found not guilty. On the five hundred counts of murder in the first degree, the defendant is found… not guilty,"

The news of my mother's verdict not only shocked me, but the whole entire court room, including my mother as well. I saw the look on Laurel's face, and she shared the same shocked expression of disbelief.

As I got up to hug my mother, only one thing ran through my mind; _Who got my mother acquitted for her crimes she committed on behalf of the Undertaking Conspiracy and why?_

As I released my mother from our hug, Thea approached us, still shocked and undoubtedly trying to process that our mother was acquitted of all charges.

Our mother stared at us both for a few seconds before saying "I love you both so much," and pulled us into a group hug.

Reporters were buzzing around us like flies, and I can only think about how long it's going to take us to get out of the Court House and back home. I sighed, and also thought about how challenging it's going to be to swing by Felicity's apartment tonight as well.

_But I have to check up on her. I can't let her try to shake off The Count's touch all by herself. It's my fault for dragging her into a life she didn't ask for- a life filled with constant danger and all sorts of madmen._

I finally managed to pull apart from my family to excuse myself for my own personal business to attend to. Our mother was getting processed, so she wouldn't be out of Iron Heights Prison until morning and Thea was so tired from the trial, she barely changed into her pajamas before falling asleep in her bed. This left me with just enough time to swing by Felicity's apartment to check in on how she is doing. I decided not to change my clothes, and I rode my motorcycle over to Felicity's apartment complex.

* * *

I arrived in front of the door to Felicity's apartment and knocked once loudly. After a few minutes, I heard her slowly walk over to the door; a few seconds later Felicity opened the door, with possibly an amused expression spread across her face because this was probably the first time I showed up here dressed as Oliver Queen and not The Hood.

"What, no window this time? You always seem to have entered my apartment by climbing up the fire escape and through one of my unlocked windows," Felicity joked.

However, I was not amused by her joke as I entered her apartment to instinctively scan the rooms for any signs of broken entry before I returned my attention to Felicity.

"Are you all right?" I asked softly, stepping within arm's reach of her.

I watched Felicity sigh as she walked back over to the couch to sit down. I followed Felicity and sat down next to her.

"You know… I could say that I'm all right, but then I would be lying. Since you usually know when someone is lying to you, I'm just gonna come out and say it- I'm not all right. Besides almost dying today, you had to kill The Count, and you had to break your vow you made to Tommy…"

Felicity trailed off and stared down into her mug, lost in thought as she stirred her tea.

I closed my eyes for a minute. If Felicity only knew that when The Count was holding her captive in his arms, my vow to Tommy didn't even cross my mind. The only thought that did cross my mind was saving her at all costs.

I reached over to her so that my hand was touching her face. She allowed me to lift her face up so that I could look her in the eyes. I felt Felicity stare into my eyes as I spoke.

"Felicity, there was no choice- and there would never be a choice- I was not going to just stand there and let The Count take your life. If I killed The Count the first time I encountered him, he would never have had the chance to take you captive. I saw how scared you looked earlier tonight; you wanted The Count to stop touching your hair and shoulders so badly, but at the same time you silently plead to me not to kill him because you knew of the vow I made to Tommy. Just know this- that vow I made will never stop me from killing anyone with serious intentions to hurt you, because you will always be worth saving Felicity Smoak, no matter what the price is,"

I watched as her face heat up as she blushed. She was actually speechless for a minute before she slightly shifted the topic of our conversation.

"I think it's safe to say that on my way out of Queen Consolidated tonight, I may have ran a magnet over the security tapes to erase the footage of your showdown with The Count," said Felicity.

I tightened my jaw as I saw her shiver after saying the dead drug lord's name.

"Thanks Felicity,"

_Actually, thanks wouldn't begin to even cover it. If Felicity didn't erase that footage, I think the Starling City PD would've surrounded my house tomorrow, looking for answers._

"No problem, Oliver. So, John called me earlier to check in on me and he told me that you yelled at him for letting me go to the clinic by myself. I hope you know it wasn't his fault, Oliver. It was my choice to go, just like the time it was my decision to be bait for that doll-maker serial killer,"

I inhaled sharply.

_Felicity is trying to put the blame on herself because she knows I would never yell at her like I yell at Diggle; and the times I do, I always apologize to her. _

"Digg knew when I walked into the foundry to suit up earlier, that my adrenaline was already spiking. He knew I would either punch him in the face for letting you go by yourself, or I would yell at him for not trying to call me after you left the foundry,"

Felicity nodded, and she was obviously grateful that I had chosen to deal with Diggle in a non-violent way.

"How did your mother's trial go?" Felicity asked, as she got up to put her mug in the sink.

_I might as well fill her in now on how it went... Diggle will probably see it on the news._

"Surprisingly, she got acquitted of all charges. I'd consider it a miracle, but…,"

"You think someone behind the scenes pulled some strings to get your mother off the hook," Felicity finished, sitting back down on the couch.

"Exactly,"

_Wow, sometimes it's like she is two steps ahead of me- that's really saying a lot since I survived on an island for five years._

"So The Vigilante's question for tomorrow is who got Moria Queen off the hook for the murders of five hundred people during the Undertaking, and why," Felicity replied.

I flashed a quick smile.

"Yup,"

_Once again, she beat me to the next thought I had in mind._

I watched Felicity yawn and glance at the clock that was up on a nearby wall- it was starting to get really late and even I could tell that she honestly needed sleep if she wanted to be able to function properly tomorrow. I guess late nights in the foundry were starting to take a heavy toll on her sleeping hours.

"You must be really exhausted after all the chaos that has happened today. You should really go to bed," I suggested.

I took in her appearance for the first time, amused that she was wearing green pajamas.

Felicity stood up and stretched. "I guess that would be a good idea, since I need to be able to function for work tomorrow,"

"Wait, you're coming into the office tomorrow?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah. It beats staying here in my empty apartment alone, waiting for the hours of the day to pass," Felicity replied.

I immediately knew that Felicity was going to be fearful of being alone for the next few weeks. Time to put my plan to action.

"That does make sense. I was planning on sleeping on your couch tonight anyway, so if you do wake up during the night screaming, I'll be here to comfort you. And tomorrow, I'll talk to Digg and we can arrange sleeping schedules so that at least one of us will be here to comfort you until your nightmares pass,"

Felicity was in the middle of folding down her sheets, when she froze to process what I had just said.

"There's no chance of arguing my way out of this is there?"

"Nope," I remarked, smiling.

Felicity paused to study me for a few seconds before walking over to her closet to grab a spare set of sheets and pillow for the couch. She threw them in my direction and I caught them with ease. I walked over to the couch to set up my temporary bed as Felicity turned off the lamp in her room.

"Oliver?"

"Yes?" I answered.

"Thank you," said Felicity, before turning over to go to sleep.

* * *

I smiled in the direction of Felicity. I knew I didn't deserve her- I was a broken man who had been through unspeakable experiences. Felicity was too perfect in many countless ways; yet, I managed to drag her into my life- she had to witness and live through things a girl like her shouldn't have to experience. Ever since she joined me and Diggle on my crusade to save Starling City, I have always wondered what keeps her going everyday- 'Oliver Queen's' assistant by day and the Hood's IT girl by night. The more I kept thinking about it, the more I realized that I may never know the answer to Felicity's strength she had in herself in an effort to lead a stable double life.

* * *

_**I hope you guys liked Oliver's POV! Leave a review to let me know if you would like to see this one shot from Diggle's POV! Thanks for the support!**_

_**-warehouseluver13 **_


	4. Diggle's POV

_**So I finally finished Diggle's POV, which I will tell you now, was the hardest POV to write, so please enjoy! Also, anything in italics are Diggle's thoughts.**_

_**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow**_

_**-warehouseluver13**_

* * *

**Di****gg****le**

Felicity and I were in the foundry trying to track down The Count's source of Vertigo that had infected more than half of Starling City, including myself. We were trying to figure it out the best we could without Oliver- who was trying to focus on his mother's trial. However, it was mostly up to Felicity, because I was still suffering from Vertigo withdrawal due to the trace amounts that somehow got into my bloodstream.

"Oliver is going to be pretty wrapped up with his mother. Are you making any process on how The Count is getting Vertigo into people's systems?" I asked.

"Not much. Each dot is the home of somebody with withdrawal symptoms,"

Felicity was examining the map the best she could, trying a pattern. After staring at the map myself, I couldn't find a pattern either.

"That seems pretty random," I said.

"That's because it's very random,"

Then an idea crossed my mind about how people got exposed to Vertigo without even knowing it.

"Okay. What if people weren't exposed at home; what if they got dosed at work? Can you create a map by their employment addresses?" I inquired.

Felicity stared at me, with a look of disappointment on her face. "I'm really starting to wonder what it would take to impress you guys,"

I smiled as she pulled up a new map with ease.

The new map popped up on the computer, and Felicity immediately picked up the pattern.

"It's a trail; a path throughout the city. Any place you have been?"

I scanned the map, and spotted a familiar place.

"59th and Dell. That's where I got my flu shot," I replied.

"You got your vaccine from one of those trucks, right? One of those clinic trucks? The route. It's a flu vaccination tour- sent out by Starling City Mobile Care,"

I couldn't even believe what Felicity was saying.

"I got addicted to Vertigo after one injection? Can that happen?"

I sat back in disbelief.

"Sure try Heroin sometime. Not try… I meant not try," said Felicity.

I ignored Felicity's comment, and focused more on finding the nearest truck to investigate.

"All right, where's the nearest truck now?" I asked.

"Downtown. What do you think? Call Oliver?"

I couldn't call Oliver now and pull him away from his mother's trial just to follow a possible lead that could be The Count's source of Vertigo.

"No, no he's busy with his family. I'll go," I said, trying to stand up from the chair I was sitting in.

I struggled to get out of the chair, and I would have fallen over if Felicity didn't force me to sit back down.

"Yeah, no that's not happening. I'll go,"

"Felicity it's too dangerous," I said.

_Not to mention if anything happened to her, I would never be able to forgive myself- and I would be at the mercy of Oliver's wrath for letting her go to the mobile clinic by herself without backup._

"It could turn out to be nothing. If it's not, I'll call,"

I watched helplessly from my chair as Felicity put on her coat and left the foundry. I still decided not to call Oliver because Felicity was right- it could turn out to be nothing.

* * *

A half hour later I heard the door to the foundry open. I figured it was Felicity returning from her investigation of the Starling City Mobile Care. She had been gone for a while, and it shouldn't really take this long to investigate a mobile clinic.

Instead, I was surprised to see a very serious and angry looking Oliver storm into the foundry. I swallowed, and thought that only the worst thing could have happened to drag Oliver away from his mother's trial.

Oliver was changing when he finally broke the silence. "The Count has taken Felicity captive. He is holding her at Queen Consolidated,"

My stomach dropped to my feet and I felt like I was just punched in the chest. If The Count captured Felicity, he was probably at the mobile clinic, waiting to trap The Vigilante. I closed my eyes, and waited for Oliver to start yelling at me.

"You should have called me Diggle, when Felicity decided to go investigate on her own,"

I opened my eyes, and noticed that Oliver already left the foundry, taking his bow and arrows with him. I exhaled and realized that there was nothing I could do, but sit and wait. However, I did know one thing- that The Count was not going to be walking out of Queen Consolidated tonight alive.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I heard the door to the foundry open again. Oliver entered, and I spotted a gunshot wound on his arm. He took off his Vigilante jacket and set it on the table. I watched Oliver pull the bullet out of his arm before asking him what happened.

"What happened?"

"Felicity is alive. The Count is no longer breathing," he replied calmly.

Oliver proceeded to clean his wound before wrapping it in medical bandages. I stared at him for a few minutes, wondering if The Count's death would add to his guilt he still has for the people he has killed in the last year.

_Oliver has not killed anyone since he made his vow to Tommy… However, Felicity might blame herself for making Oliver break his vow, which is a different problem I'm sure the three of us will have to face soon enough._

I noticed that Oliver had finished changing back into his suit and he set his Hood costume, combat bow, and quiver of arrows down on the table to put away later. As he turned around to leave the foundry to head back to the court house, he yelled back to me- "Go home, Digg. Get some rest,"

I scoffed as he left the foundry. I was not driving anywhere until Vertigo was out of my system.

_Apparently, Oliver forgot that we don't have an antidote yet. Although, I do feel better, I am very worried about Felicity. Without a doubt, tonight's events will echo in Felicity's nightmares, which is something she shouldn't go through alone. I know Oliver will most likely sleep on her couch tonight, to let Felicity know that she isn't alone- we will be with her every step of the way. _

I stared blankly up at the ceiling, lost in thought and debating whether or not I should call Felicity.

I checked my watch and I was shocked to see how late it had gotten. I carefully pulled myself up and checked my balance. It looked like the Vertigo was wearing off, although I wasn't really sure, I was tired and I wanted to go home and sleep. I walked out to the Verdant parking lot and got in my car. I sat there for a minute before deciding to call Felicity to see how she is doing.

The phone rang three times before she picked up.

"Hey Diggle. Yes, I'm fine as you probably know, alive and in one piece too," said Felicity.

"That's a relief to hear. When Oliver stopped by the foundry to suit up before coming to rescue you, he started yelling at me for letting for you go investigate on your own in the first place. I reminded him that I was still on the mend from the Vertigo flu shot, and I wasn't really strong enough to keep you in the foundry until he got back from his mother's trial. I was just calling to tell you how bad I feel for not trying hard enough to stop you," I said.

Felicity was silent for a moment before she answered.

"Digg, it's not your fault. I should have listened to you and stayed in the foundry. I should have waited for Oliver to return from his mother's trial and let him go investigate the clinic. However, when I decided to go investigate the clinic, I just wanted to help Oliver out since he always works so hard to juggle his double life. I didn't expect The Count to be at the clinic, possibly waiting for the Vigilante to show up. To top it off, when Oliver came to rescue me, he broke his vow he made to Tommy and killed him,"

Felicity's voice cracked, and I knew that she was probably on the verge of crying.

_I have to say something… I've seen the way Oliver looks at her… he has had looks of regret and happiness spread across his face. I think it's because of the life he leads that he can't get close to anybody. Oliver's result of pushing everyone away is that he creates different masks of himself- Oliver Queen, millionaire playboy, Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated, Oliver Queen, the man who survived on an island for five years, Oliver Queen, who becomes The Vigilante at night to save Starling City, and Oliver Queen,, the real Oliver who is finally starting to let Felicity see who he really is. _

"Felicity, I'm absolutely sure that when Oliver rescued you, he told you that given any day, he would throw his vow he made to Tommy out the window if it came down to between you living or dying at the hands of a madman. Out of everything else in the world, Oliver would most definitely put your life ahead of anything else he valued. When he knows you're not looking at him, he stares at you sadly sometimes with a look of regret of his face. I think he regrets dragging you into his double life of Oliver Queen and the Vigilante,"

_It was the best thing I could say since I can't just tell Felicity how much Oliver really loves her. It's not my place. Although, at the rate his ex-girlfriends are showing up, Felicity may just keep her feelings for him bottled up. We both know that Oliver is a little reckless when it comes to his own safety out on the streets. She always wants him to come back to the foundry in one piece. She sees Oliver differently than the rest of the world; I see him as a broken man. Oliver sees himself as a survivor of a crucible. His mother and sister see him as the CEO of Queen Consolidated. The world sees him as the Queen billionaire playboy back from the dead. I think Felicity sees Oliver as a man who is lost and who is seeking redemption- he saw saving Starling City as his calling. However, I fear the more effort he puts in becoming the Vigilante, the more "Oliver Queen" he loses._

"Well, Oliver can think what he wants, but at least he doesn't need to use those BS excuses anymore when he needs something analyzed or fixed, such as 'his laptop with bullet holes.' Besides, I could have left after we found and rescued Walter. Actually, that was what I was originally planning to do. Yet during the time it took to find Walter, I noticed that every time Oliver put on his hood to go off and save Starling City, he became someone else; and that person needed someone besides John Diggle to ground him when he came back from his mission of the day. To remind him that reality does exist, even if he has to walk around as Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated by day, and become The Vigilante by night," Felicity replied.

I was sitting in my car smiling at her response.

_Felicity is tough for a blonde. She basically saw through Oliver's pitiful excuses of bringing her evidence to analysis for his mission as The Vigilante. In the amount of time on the team, she has had a bomb placed around her neck, she has been face to face with an underground casino mob boss, she skydived with me to make Oliver leave Lian Yu and return to Starling City, she has stepped on a landmine, she has been bait for the Doll Maker serial killer and she was taken captive by Count Vertigo. For Felicity to say that she stays on the team to Oliver grounded; that is an understatement- we need each other to always remember that the real world exists outside the foundry._

"Oh so you're saying that you felt sorry for me? Well it was getting pretty lonely in the foundry with Oliver. Also, is that the only reason why you stayed?" I teased.

Felicity laughed and I knew that she was blushing.

"I could also say that I stayed because both of you don't know how to handle a computer, and that just hurts me in my soul," said Felicity.

I chuckled.

"Okay Felicity. Well, I'll let you go now so you can go back to whatever you doing before I called. Oliver will probably swing by your apartment anyways to check up on you himself. You know how sensitive he gets about you, especially when he just had to leave you there to deal with QC security and go back to his mother's trial to try to act as if nothing had happened,"

"Trust me Diggle, I know. Which is why I drove back to my apartment to take a bath before he stops by. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't here when he stops by tonight, Starling City would be at his mercy until he found me and made sure I was okay," said Felicity, reassuring my worries for her safety.

Felicity's comment caused me to laugh again.

"You know Felicity, you are probably right. Anyways, see you tomorrow, bright and early," I said.

"Bye John," said Felicity as she hung up.

"Bye Felicity," I replied before dropping the call.

I returned my cell phone to the pocket of my pants before looking up at the never-ending starless sky of Starling City.

_I can sense that this is only the calm before the storm... and this storm is heading straight towards us... Except it's not for Oliver Queen. It's for The Vigilante. _

I brushed that thought from my mind, and focused on getting home. There's nothing to worry about yet, because our growing problem will just be where I left it when I wake up tomorrow.

* * *

_**I hoped you liked this POV on my one shot! Like I said before, this was super hard to write, so a nice review would be awesome to see! **_

_**-warehouseluver13**_


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